INDIAN RIVERS. THE BRAHMPUTRA.

BRAHMPUTRA RIVER.

The Brahmputra River. Origin.Manasarovar in Tibet.Length 1800 miles, depth 150 ft maximum 380. Mouth Bay of Bengal.It is the only river with a male name. All other rivers are named in feminine gender.

Although the total length of the Brahmaputra, is about 1,800 miles and exceeds that of the Ganges, only 450 miles of its course lies within India. The Brahmaputra, like the Indus, has its source in a trans-Himalayan area about 60 miles southeast of Mana-sarovar Lake in Tibet.      

The river runs east across Tibet for more than half its total length before cutting into India at the northern border of Arunachal Pradesh. It then flows through the eastern extremity of the Himalayas to enter the Assam Valley of northeastern India as the Dihang west of the town of Sadiya, the Dihang turns to the southwest and is joined by two mountain streams, the Lohit and the Dibang. After the confluence, about 900 miles from the Bay of Bengal, the river is known as the Brahmaputra. 

In Assam the river is mighty, even in the dry season, and during the rains its banks are more than five miles apart. As the river follows its braided, 450-mile course through the valley, it receives several rapidly rushing Himalayan streams, including the Subansiri, Kameng, Bhareli, Dhansiri, Manas, Champamati, Saralbhanga, and Sankosh rivers. The main tributaries from the hills and from the plateau to the south are the Burhi Dihing, the Disang, the Dikhu, and the Kopili.

The Brahmaputra enters the plains of Bangladesh after turning south around the Garo Hills below Dhuburi, India. After flowing past Chilmari, Bangladesh, it is joined on its right bank by the Tista River and then follows a 150-mile course due south as the Yamuna River. Before its confluence with the Ganges, the Yamuna receives the combined waters of the Baral, Atrai, and Hurasagar rivers on its right bank and becomes the point of departure of the large Dhaleswari River on its left bank. 

A tributary of the Dhaleswari, the Burhi Ganga, flows past Dhaka and joins the Meghna River above Munshiganj.The Yamuna joins with the Ganges north of Goalundo Ghat, after which, as the Padma, their combined waters flow to the southeast for a distance of about 75 miles. The Padma reaches its confluence with the Meghna River near Chandpur and then enters the Bay of Bengal through the Meghna estuary and lesser channels.